This invention relates to radiant energy collecting devices, and in particular relates to solar energy collectors adapted to be arrayed in a flat orientation.
Many different solar collector devices have been developed in the prior art for collecting and utilizing radiant energy received from the sun. Devices known as flat plate collectors have been provided in which a flat array of plates is oriented to absorb the sun's rays, and a fluid is passed in heat exchange relationship with the plates to collect and carry away the thermal energy. However, such prior art devices have not achieved a high degree of efficiency in collecting the available solar energy. As a result the temperature of the outlet fluid has not been high. Furthermore for any given rate of energy production it has been necessary to build a collector structure having a total plate area of large dimensions with the result that the cost is high in relation to the output energy rate while space utilization is low. The development of a more efficient solar collector would assist in relieving the energy shortage, and would also make it feasible to employ currently unused spaces for collecting such energy, such as on the spaces on the walls of a building or other structure.